““Nick took a deep breath and braced himself for the interrogation. “Well, Ma, see . . . there’s this girl.” Silence. He checked to make sure the call hadn’t been dropped. “You still there, Ma?” A sniffle. “You can’t be crying already,” he said. “I haven’t told you anything about her yet.” “It doesn’t matter, Nick,” his mother said through her tears. “Those are the three words I’ve been waiting thirty-four years to hear.””
